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had doubtless seen himself dead and Isobel rushing into the arms of a handsome young man. Alinor would never suggest to William what she had discovered. That would hurt him terribly, since Alinor was sure he had never permitted himself to see the true cause of his dislike of her new marriage. She liked William and, besides, she was grateful to him for healing the hurt Ian's determined absence had caused her. |
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"Yes," she agreed, "Ian is as beautiful as a starry night, but his face is nothing new to me, you know. Nor am I new to him." |
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To her surprise William crimsoned again. "Perhaps," he said in a rather stifled voice, "I should turn around and go home again. I am guilty of truly disgusting suspicions. Did you guess? Was that why you came to fetch me instead of Lord Ian?" |
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Alinor knew that remark would be made sooner or later, just as she now knew that Ian was avoiding Roselynde just so that she could answer such comments with perfect truth. Nonetheless, she needed a moment to subdue her temper again. It was a disgusting idea that William was apologizing for. Ian had stayed for some months at Roselynde while Simon was ill. No doubt William, and many others, thought nothing of it at the time but, when they received invitations to Alinor's wedding to Ian, all had probably leapt to the ugly conclusion that they had planned their union under Simon's dying eyes or, even worse, that they had been lovers all along. |
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"Ian is not in Roselynde," Alinor said, failing to keep the coldness entirely out of her voice. "He has not spent more than a few nights in the keep since he came. He has been afield, hunting outlaws." |
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"I beg your pardon most humbly," William mumbled, responding to the tone rather than the words. "I do not blame you for being angry. If you cannot forgive me, I will go home. I cannot think what came over me, Alinor." |
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